The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday denied the latest legal challenge by death row inmate Edmund Zagorski to his scheduled Thursday execution, finding "this late-hour appeal to be meritless."

The challenge focused on objections to the constitutionality of the electric chair, the method Zagorski has chosen for his execution.

Zagorski, 63, remains on death watch, the period of special security for inmates who are within three days of execution. On Wednesday, he selected his last meal: pickled pig knuckles and pig tails.

Zagorski's attorneys argued he was essentially forced into choosing the electric chair, as an alternative to the controversial lethal injection protocol he and other death row inmates have filed suit to stop.

In response, the state argued Zagorski could not both choose a method and still challenge it. After a federal district judge denied his argument earlier this week, he appealed to the 6th Circuit. The denial thwarts one of Zagorski's last remaining attempts to stop his execution.

Zagorski requested death by electrocution Oct. 8, hours after the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the state's controversial lethal injection cocktail — three drugs medical experts said would lead to an extremely painful death.

Zagorski's attorney Kelley Henry said Wednesday night she plans to appeal the 6th Circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday morning.

There also remains an open request for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court on his claims of ineffective counsel at trial. It is unlikely the high court will grant the stay; they have already declined a request to intervene in this case.

Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.